Daniela Matei

Associate Professor

Department of Medicine Co-leader of the Experimental and Developmental Program of the IU Simon Cancer Center Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Novel Therapies for Ovarian Cancer

My research strives to uncover mechanisms of drug resistance and metastasis in ovarian cancer that can be manipulated to improve clinical outcomes. We have approached this goal by dissecting at biochemical and cellular level key steps regulating the process of metastasis leading us to discover new small molecules that we are developing as anti-cancer agents. We have also developed expertise in epigenetic interventions which we are applying in the clinic. Our group investigates agents that induce DNA demethylation as a modality to resensitize ovarian tumors to chemotherapy in clinical trials funded by the National Cancer Institute and pioneered at Indiana University School of Medicine. Blending laboratory science, including complex genetic and epigenetic profiling of human tumors, with clinical investigation, this work has high impact for development of new treatment strategies in ovarian cancer.